Peak Memo Oct. 21 Oct. 25th
Every Way Every Day
ZEARN IS HERE! I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS SUPPORT!
Please see attached doc updating you on how Zearn will look for our campus.
Zearn Club Google Sheet
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kaol1-d9lU6VvaTxllMtrGaEkaGwTYEYpolps_4Uuss/edit?usp=sharing
Shout outs!
Shout out to Ms. M for making delicious German chocolate cupcakes! Yum! ~ Diane
Shout out to Ms. Wiltshire for always being open and willing to discuss any interaction that could lead to misunderstanding. I really appreciate how you always assume positive intent! ~ Diane
Shout out to Marilyn, Lucy, Carmen, and Grant for subbing in rooms so much this week so that we could get out planning meetings done and so much work on our IB planners completed as well!! That time was super valuable for teachers to have time to complete those action items within the midst of Rocktober, and we are so grateful that you are so willing to be flexible to help us get those things done! – Leadership
Shout out to Ms. Hughes and Mrs. Newton for all the resources and insight they’ve shared for upcoming parent conferences, y’all have made things way less stressful! – Madison
Shout out to Mrs. Mikkelson for her hard work with scholars in reading—they are so excited to work with you and accomplish goals! – Madison
Shout out to Ms. Anaya for her amazing dragons in the third grade hallway! You’re SO talented! – Madison
Shout out to my amazing Peak Pal, Ms. Luna, for handling scholar concerns with such grace, compassion, and patience! – Madison
Shout out to Ms. Hughes for walking me through everything I need to gather for parent teacher conferences. I would be very lost without her! – Ms. Weinberger
Shout out to Mary and Erica for making our Full Day Planning fun and productive. - Bridget
Shout out to Courtney for putting in so much work before maternity leave. Even the kids noticed your hard work! We will miss you, but are so excited for you and your family! - Bridget
Shout out to Carmen and Marilyn for subbing for 5th Grade for our planning day! We appreciate you so much and couldn’t have done it without you. - Bridget
Shout out to Leadership for organizing all the substitutes this week. – Bridget
Peak Campus Preview Day!
Perot Museum Science Night: Super Hero Science Night
One: because of the exposure for our scholars
Two: the fact that Perot does almost everything
three: Perot is providing 9 exhibits for scholars to experience
four: It doesn't require teachers to create anything!
What is needed from US, is our presence. One of the request from Perot for these type of demonstrations is for us to provide the man power to supervise and assist with the exhibits and running and flow of the night. They have been meeting with Carlos regarding the night and all needs and after I meet with him this week,I will have more specifics for you all.
Extra Duty code for Tutoring Pay
Counselor News: Guess the Gryphon!
Please see the attachment from Counselor Campbell on Suicidal Ideation. Also the cool information below.
Peak Staff! Itching to wear your favorite pair of jeans with these cooler temperatures – well now you can! All you have to do is submit a baby picture to me (JesCampbell@uplifteducation.org) and I will choose one each week. The first person to submit a picture AND the first person who guesses correctly will receive a jeans pass! Along with submitting your picture, include a few fun facts and something you would tell your elementary self! Happy baby picture hunting!
The link below will go in every memo after next week for staff to guess.
Panaroma Survey
Instructional Focus
Mondo: monitoring the following skills in small groups. After your small groups we should be able to answer the following questions:
Kinder-Who knows those 6 letters and sounds? Who do I need to follow up with the next time I meet with my group for an individual at bat?
1st- With the students I am monitoring on blending, how have they progressed towards their goal? What specific sounds are they still struggling with? How will I note this so I can follow up with them tomorrow?
2-5:
- Consistent rotations happening EVERY DAY.
- We will be looking for effective coaching of scholars while they are reading independently at your table. Use the resources from the Google Drive that we talked about that have prompts to use when coaching scholars on their reading.
- We will also be looking for the execution of what we talk about in our planning meetings:
- The implementation of the scaffolds and/or mini lesson for the misconceptions in the texts that we discuss in our meetings.
- Calling on specific scholars or listening to specific scholars during turn and talks to coach them in order to move them to either approaches or meets (the 5-6 scholars you identified in your CA data dive and our half-day planning meetings)
Math Focus:
K-5 Math: Vary your methods of scholar response during the concept development. Note in your script when you will Turn and Talk and what you are listening for. As you monitor the turn and talk you should be able to answer the following questions before it ends.
What are scholars confused about? Who has the key takeaway? Who doesn’t? What do I need to do in the moment to address before we move on?
Lockdown Drill
Parent Conferences
SALARY LETTERS FYI
All returning employees should receive a salary letter which will include salary, bonus and/or retroactive pay that will be reflected in their October 31 paychecks. Remember, this is only for employees that were at Uplift in the 2018-19 school year.
Employees with questions can submit an iHelp ticket and a member of our people team will respond as soon as possible.
PLEASE SHARE THE IT SURVEY - DEADLINE NOVEMBER 8
Uplift Family – Your IT team would love to hear from you!! Please take a minute to send this short IT survey to your teachers and staff.
BVanMaanen@uplifteducation.orgsurveymonkey.com/r/Y8CPV6V
APPLICATION WINDOW FOR CHILDREN OF UPLIFT EMPLOYEES OCT. 28
The 2019-2020 Admissions season is upon us! This year we are opening the application to the public on Friday, November 1, 2019. As in previous years, in order to help us anticipate and clarify any questions with the application process before the public launch, we are giving Uplift employees the opportunity to submit lottery applications for their children starting Monday, October 28, 2019.
As a reminder the preferences and details for Uplift Staff are the following:
1. Children of campus-based employees receive admission preference at the campus at which the employee works.
2. Children of employees assigned to CMO receive admission preference at the campus of their choice
3. It is important to submit the application for your child for Uplift to adequately plan for the public lottery
If you have any questions as you complete the lottery application, please let us know so we can ensure any clarifications are made prior to the official public application launch on November 1. Questions and feedback should be sent to Susan Ness at sness@uplifteducation.org. Please look for the application link in next weeks memo.
Uplift Staff Appreciation Survey
- Please complete this Staff Appreciation Survey from Yasmin so that the network can continue to improve staff appreciation initiatives!
Donor Choose
If you do not have a DonorsChoose.org account, please click this link and set one up.
- Submit your first request. Once you do, you’ll get a special promo code to double donations made during your request’s first week on the site.
- Get started at http://share.donorschoose.org/lZ92f
Here are the details:
On October 24th, donors and teachers will have a special opportunity to double the impact of their donations on classroom projects for basic classroom materials. On October 24, all live, approved classroom basics projects will receive a 2X Match, while funds last. For example, that means a $20 donation will become a $40 donation.
This is a great chance to stock up on those basics that always seem to be running out like pencils, paper, writing utensils, crayons, binders, dry erase boards, index cards, markers, folders, notebooks, stickers, or posters.
To find out more info, and to check to see if your project qualifies, read the help center: https://help.donorschoose.org/hc/en-us/articles/360036927493-Anonymous-classroom-supporter-matching-donations-on-classroom-basics-projects-on-DonorsChoose-org-for-one-day-only-on-10-24-2019
Mid Years
Time goes by so quickly once the school year gets underway. I hope you and your team have been having lots of meaningful real-time feedback conversations these past 3 months. As we enter October, we also enter the Mid-Year cycle for school year employees, which is the official summarization of performance so far during the performance year; providing a formalized checkpoint for progress.
The Mid-Year Evaluation process provides an excellent opportunity for you and your manager to:
- Check in on goals, ensuring metrics are clear.
- Review progress/performance/accomplishments to date.
- Discuss and align on actions/course corrections to stay on track for the year.
As you know, we have staggered openings for the Mid-Year Evaluation window, as follows:
(see chart below)
To prepare for your review, you should complete your self-assessment in the Mid-Year Performance Review 2019-2020 form on iShine. Once your self-assessment is complete and sent to your manager, your manager will provide written feedback for you as well as a rating for every indicator. Managers will also conduct a full classroom observation for teachers during this time. If you are a resident teacher or manage a resident teacher, please remember resident forms are different from the teacher observation and evaluation forms, and you should only utilize the forms specific to your role.
In addition to preparing for mid-year discussions, every teacher must validate their PowerSchool rosters before the snapshot date of Friday, October 25. You and your manager should review the dashboard, and if any changes are needed, send them to your Manager and to the PowerSchool Admin on your campus. All changes must be made by the snapshot date of Friday, October 25. Please note: 2019-2020 Appeals will not be accepted based on incorrect rosters due to lack of validation by the snapshot date.
Network culture committee interest?
BLACKOUT DATES
1st Semester Black Out Days (Leave will rarely be granted for the days below): *List is
subject to change
- October:3rd, 7th, 11th, 15th, 23rd
- October 21st- 23rd- Parent Conferences
- November: 22nd
- December: 2nd. 9th- 16th
- January: 6th-10th, 17th, 21s
Reminders/upcoming events
- October 21-25 Book Fair
- PEROT SCIENCE NIGHT Oct. 30 (all teachers are expected to attend)
- Book Character Day October 31st
- Red ribbon Week October 28-Nov. 1st